What is the 2017 Pokemon Movie All About?

[Updated on March 15th, 2018]

The Pokemon Craze Lives On

It’s been over twenty years now and these little monsters have moved out of our pockets and into our hearts. Last year Niantic released Pokemon Go, a smartphone app that blew up more than anyone could have imagined. To keep up this momentum Nintendo released Pokemon Sun and Moon later in the year. Gamefreak and the Pokemon company have done a spectacular job updating the Pokemon franchise. Gamefreak has been able to adapt it to keep it fresh for seasoned Pokemon Trainers. However, Pokemon still grabs appeal from the casual fan seeking a dose of nostalgia.

I Choose You

About a month ago, Nintendo released a new trailer for a new 2017 Pokemon movie. The movie is simply titled “Pokemon the Movie 2017”. “I Choose You” is the current subtitle for the movie. This movie shares the same name as the original Pokemon episode that aired in Japan on April 1st, 1997. Non-coincidentally the Pokemon Movie 2017 trailer seems to be a retelling of Ash and Pikachu’s adventure.

Familiar Moments

Last week Nintendo released a second trailer for the new Pokemon Movie. There are many scenes in this trailer that is reminiscent of the first episode in the Anime. In the trailer, we witness Ash and Pikachu struggling to maintain a peaceful relationship. We also see the iconic scene with Ash protecting Pikachu from a flock of Spearow. We also see Ash befriending many familiar faces all over again. Ash catches a Charmander and evolves a Metapod! The opening to the second trailer shows Ho-Oh but this time he’s ready for his closeup. As a child I remember the mystery and bewilderment seeing such foreshadowing. It would be nice if they finally solve that mystery for us 20 years later.

That New New

Even though Nintendo shows us many nostalgic scenes from the first episode, in 20 years our Pokemon have evolved (literally). If you don’t remember, Pikachu was originally a fat little yellow ball. The visuals have been updated to appeal to the newer crowd. We get more details and cleaner animation. Pikachu has been hitting the treadmill and slimmed down a couple of pounds. (That’s a lot for a mouse.) Not only that we see a trainer battling Ash with an Incineroar. So we get to see seventh generation Pokemon too! Like many Pokemon movies over the years and always follows the release of a new Legendary Pokemon. Like Mewtwo, Mew, Ho-oh and Lugia before it– Marshadow is the new Star of the show.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Pikachu had awkward adolescent years too.

Reading In-between the Lines

I can’t help but think that there’s going to be some kind of crazy surprise in this movie for the hardcore fan. There are so many little hints and details that keep me intrigued. To start, Ash is wearing a similar hat but the design has been changed. Is this just a design change or does it mean something else? There’s a mysterious bearded character that resembles Red from the original Gameboy games. Could Red be Ash’s Father? Who knows what all of these details could mean. I’ll just wait and try to be pleasantly surprised.

An SF Bay Area native, perfect imperfectionist, and everyday legend. Photographer extraordinaire, master of analysis on the gaming scene, and creative professional. Sketching on the daily, traveling on the regular.

He's a hot off the press graphic designer who's got fresh ideas that are even hotter. He specializes in photography, Illustration and packaging design, but has also done typography, web design, and print design. He's led multiple projects for clients around the Bay Area. He left California State University East Bay with a B.A. in graphic design looking to redesign the world for the better.

He's passionate about everything design, art, and hip hop. Making things functional and aesthetically pleasing at the same time is something he wants todo for everyone. However, that just might be humanly impossible. So he'll start by doing so little by little.

An SF Bay Area native, perfect imperfectionist, and everyday legend. Photographer extraordinaire, master of analysis on the gaming scene, and creative professional. Sketching on the daily, traveling on the regular. He's a hot off the press graphic designer who's got fresh ideas that are even hotter. He specializes in photography, Illustration and packaging design, but has also done typography, web design, and print design. He's led multiple projects for clients around the Bay Area. He left California State University East Bay with a B.A. in graphic design looking to redesign the world for the better. He's passionate about everything design, art, and hip hop. Making things functional and aesthetically pleasing at the same time is something he wants to do for everyone. However, that just might be humanly impossible. So he'll start by doing so little by little.